20 November 2012

gnomophobia

[nohm-oh-foh-bee-uh] (homonym of yesterday’s word of the day: nomophobia)

noun

– irrational fear of garden gnomes.

Example:

‘We stole a garden gnome and set it on the front step of the neighbour’s house and then knocked on the door. It was hilarious hearing him scream when he opened the door and saw the gnome. Even funnier was watching him go foetal as the gnome stood there taunting his gnomophobia’.

Today’s aphorism

‘He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style’.

– Leo Tolstoy

On this day

20 November 1910 – death of Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, (‘Anna Karenina‘, ‘War and Peace‘). Born 9 September 1828.

20 November 1947 – Princess Elizabeth, who is crowned Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, marries Phillip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey.

20 November 1985 – Microsoft launches Windows 1.01, a graphical user interface for personal computers. The program required MS-DOS to operate.

Today’s WOTD – 19 November 2012

nomophobia

[noh-moh-foh-bee-uh]

noun

– fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

Origin: abbreviation of ‘no–mobile-phone phobia‘.

Example:

‘People with nomophobia rarely turn off their phones and become anxious if they lose their phone, battery dies or there is no reception’.

Today’s aphorism

‘Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal’.

– Abraham Lincoln

On this day

19 November 1863 – President Lincoln delivers the ‘Gettysburg Address’ during the American Civil War, while dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech commenced with the now-famous words, ‘Four score and seven years ago …’, which was referring to the Declaration of Independence in 1777. The speech addressed equality, freedom and democracy being representative of all people.

19 November 2007 – share markets across the globe crashed, as the world entered the Global Financial Crisis.

Today’s WOTD – 18 November 2012

Gaia
(Gaea or Ge)

pronounced: [ˈɡeɪə]

— noun

the goddess of the earth, who bore Uranus and by him Oceanus, Cronus, and the Titans.

[from Greek gaia earth]

“Earth as a goddess,” from Gk. Gaia, personification of gaia “earth,” a collateral form of ge (Dorian ga) “earth,” of unknown origin. The Roman equivalent goddess of the earth was Tellus (see tellurian), sometimes used in Eng. poetically or rhetorically for “Earth personified”

Example sentence:

Since the industrial revolution the increase in pollution, reduction in rainforest and destruction of the natural habitat of many species is leading to the obliteration of Gaia and her occupants.

Today’s aphorism

‘Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!”.

– Audrey Hepburn

On this day

18 November 1922 – Benito Mussolini becomes the leader of Italy. Mussolini, was head of the National Fascist Party and one of the founders of fascism. As dictator he named himself ‘Il Duce’ (The Leader). Initially a socialist, Mussolini felt that socialism had failed and he opposed egalitarianism. He was an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler. Mussolini was forced to stand down in 1943 by his opponents. He went into hiding and in 1945 was captured and executed.

18 November 1928 – Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut, in ‘Steamboat Willy’.

18 November 1978 – Jim Jones, leader of the cult ‘People’s Temple’ located in Jonestown, Guyana, instructs followers to drink a deadly brew of Kool-Aid, cyanide and sedatives. 914 people died in the mass suicide, including Jones. 303 children were among the victims. It is likely that some of the deaths were murder as a result of some people being forced to drink the concoction. Jones claimed that the cult was under surveillance of intelligence organisations who were preparing to raid Jonestown and either kill or capture the members. He claimed that survivors would be forced to convert to fascism.

18 November 2002 – death of James Coburn, actor (‘The Great Escape‘, ‘The Magnificent Seven‘).

Today’s WOTD – 17 November 2012

hamartia

[hah-mahr-TEE-uh]

noun:

Tragic flaw.

What is Oedipus’ hamartia that leads to his self-fulfilling self-reversal? — Laszlo Versényi, Man’s Measure

We called it by many different things, such as hubris or hamartia, but given the way you butcher Latin, let’s stick with English. — Stephanie Draven, The Fever and the Fury

Hamartia stems from the Greek word hamartánein which meant “to err.” However, it entered English in the late 1800s.

Today’s aphorism

‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions’.

– Dalai Lama

On this day

17 November 1950 – 15 year-old, Tenzin Gyatso becomes the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibet, a position he holds to this day.

17 November 1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon televises a speech in which he states, ‘I am not a crook’. This was in relation to allegations of his involvement in the Watergate Scandal, in which documents were stolen from the offices of the Democratic National Convention at the Watergate Hotel in Washington on 17 June 1972. Nixon was implicated in the break-in when recordings of conversations held in the Oval Office showed his involvement. Impeachment proceedings were commenced, however, Nixon resigned on 8 August 1974 and avoided being impeached, although he faced possible criminal proceedings. Vice-President Gerald Ford became President immediately following Nixon’s resignations, and on 8 September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon of any wrong-doing.

Today’s WOTD  – 16 November 2012

redoubt

[ri-dout]

noun – Fortification
1. an isolated work forming a complete enclosure of any form, used to defend a prominent point.

2. an independent earthwork built within a permanent fortification to reinforce it.

noun Mount

3. an active volcano in S Alaska, on the Alaska Peninsula: highest peak in the Aleutian Range. 10,197 feet (3108 meters).

Origin:
1600–10; < French redoute < Italian ridotto < Late Latin reductus a refuge, noun use of past participle of Latin redūcere to lead back; see reduce

Example:

Taking heavy casualties the brigade, with most of the 19th attached to it took the great redoubt.

Today’s aphorism

‘Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it’.

– Bernard Meltzer

On this day

16 November 1988 – 35 year old, Benazir Bhutto elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. She was a member of the democratic-socialist Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Today’s WOTD – 15 November 2012

redoubtable

[ri-DOU-tuh-buhl]

adjective:

– Arousing fear or awe; evoking respect or honor.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French redoutable, from redouter (to dread), from re- (again) + douter (to doubt, fear). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dwo- (two) that also gave us dual, double, dubious, doubt, diploma, twin, between, and didymous. Earliest documented use: 1421.

USAGE:
“Even the redoubtable German economy now seems to be buckling.”
Powering Down; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 7, 2012.

Today’s aphorism

‘The best political weapon is the weapon of terror. Cruelty commands respect. Men may hate us. But, we don’t ask for their love; only for their fear’.

– Heinrich Himmler

On this day

15 November 1943 – Nazi SS leader, Heinrich Himmler issues an order stating that Gypsies were to be treated the same as Jews and sent to concentration camps.

15 November 1988 – Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian National Conference, declares the independence of Palestine.

15 November 2007 – Cyclone Sidr, with 160km/h winds, strikes Bangladesh. Over 2 million people are evacuated from coastal areas. Around 5,000 people were killed.

Today’s Word of the Day is to acknowledge the total solar eclipse best visible in Cairns and Port Douglas.

Today’s WOTD – 14 November 2012

umbraphile

[uhm-brah-fahyl]

noun

– one who love eclipses, often travelling to see them.

‘In mid-November 2012, umbraphiles from across the country, travelled to North Queensland to view that area’s first total solar eclipse in 1302 years’.

Today’s quote

‘Astronomers are greatly disappointed when, having traveled halfway around the world to see an eclipse, clouds prevent a sight of it; and yet a sense of relief accompanies the disappointment’.

– Simon Newcomb

On this day

14 November 1868 – birth of Steele Rudd, Australian author, (pen-name for Arthur Hoey Davis). Wrote ‘On Our Selection‘, which introduced Australia to ‘Dad and Dave’. Died 11 October 1935.

14 November 2012 – Total solar eclipse visible from Cairns, North Queensland, Australia. Other areas will see a partial eclipse. The last total eclipse for Cairns was in 710AD, with the next one not expected for another 225 years.  The best view will be around Port Douglas and Palm Cove from 7.40am. The eclipse can be watched online at: http://www.couriermail.com.au/travel/australia/watch-the-far-north-queensland-solar-eclipse-live/story-e6freqwx-1226515142164

Today’s WOTD – 12 November 2012

parvenu

[pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo, pahr-vuh-noo, -nyoo]

noun

1. a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings, etc.

adjective

2. being or resembling a parvenu.
3. characteristic of a parvenu.

Example sentence:

‘Many a parvenu despot has dealt swiftly and harshly with those who have opposed their forcible ascension to power’.

Today’s aphorism

‘Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks’.
– Author Unknown

On this day

12 November 1927 – Josef Stalin takes full control of the Soviet Union after Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party a few weeks earlier.

12 November 1944 – sinking of the German battleship, Tirpitz. The Allies had tried for two years to sink the ship. Finally, 32 British Lancaster bombers attack and sink the ship.

12 November 1990 – Swiss computer scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, publishes a formal proposal for hyper-text transfer, this followed his proposal for Information Management, published in March 1989. On 25 December 1990, he makes the world’s first successful communication between a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) client and a server; and the world wide web is born. He is director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which oversees the ongoing development of the world-wide web.

Today’s WOTD – 11 November 2012

armistice

[ahr-muh-stis]

noun

1. a temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties;
2. truce: World War I ended with the armistice of 1918.

Example Sentences

To be technical, they don’t even have an official peace treaty, they only have an armistice.

With this modern conflict there will probably be no signed peace treaties, or armistice.

Today’s aphorism

Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ Day is not. So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don’t want to throw away any sacred things.

– Kurt Vonnegut Jr

On this day

11 November 1880 – execution by hanging, of Ned Kelly, Australian bush-ranger.

11 November 1918 – End of World War I. Commemorated as ‘Remembrance Day’ in British Commonwealth countries and ‘Armistice Day’ in other nations, recognising the armistice signed at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month. In 1954, the United States, changed Armistice Day to ‘Veterans Day’ and made it a public holiday to recognise those who have served in the armed forces, not just those who served in World War I.

11 November 1954 – Pensioners’ Revolt, United Kingdom. Thousands of pensioners march in a rally in London calling for an increase of their pensions by 17s 6d, which would take a single person’s pension to £2 10s per week.

11 November 1975 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (Labor Party) sacked by the Governor-General and replaced by Malcolm Fraser (Liberal Party).

11 November 2004 – death of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader in Paris after falling into a coma. The cause of his death is disputed, with some believing he was poisoned by Israel, others believing it was from cirrhosis, or linked to AIDS.